Targeting Mycobacterium tuberculosis Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha-Downregulating Genes for the Development of Antituberculous Vaccines.

ABSTRACT: Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF) plays a critical role in the control of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, in part by augmenting T cell responses through promoting macrophage phagolysosomal fusion (thereby optimizing CD4(+) T cell immunity by enhancing antigen presentation) and apoptosis (a process that can lead to cross-priming of CD8(+) T cells). M. tuberculosis can evade antituberculosis (anti-TB) immunity by inhibiting host cell TNF production via expression of specific mycobacterial components. We hypothesized that M. tuberculosis mutants with an increased capacity to induce host cell TNF production (TNF-enhancing mutants) and thus with enhanced immunogenicity can be useful for vaccine development. To identify mycobacterial genes that regulate host cell TNF production, we used a TNF report

SUBMITTER: Olsen A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4895118 | biostudies-literature | 2016 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature